2/3 The Realities of Adoption

with Michael and Sharon Dennehy | March 12, 2013

Adoption has its challenges. Michael and Sharon Dennehy, known as the “United Nations” couple due to the number of international adoptions they have pursued, talk about the challenges and realities of adopting children with special needs. Sharon admits there are days when parenting seems overwhelming, and she just wants to take a long nap. Then she remembers God’s calling, and she realizes afresh the amazing blessing she has is these children.

Adoption has its challenges. Michael and Sharon Dennehy, known as the “United Nations” couple due to the number of international adoptions they have pursued, talk about the challenges and realities of adopting children with special needs. Sharon admits there are days when parenting seems overwhelming, and she just wants to take a long nap. Then she remembers God’s calling, and she realizes afresh the amazing blessing she has is these children.

2/3 The Realities of Adoption

Bob: Mike Dennehy is a dad to nine adopted children. He says there have been days when some of those kids have wished they weren’t in the Dennehy family—like a daughter they adopted from Ethiopia.

Mike: She, literally, put all her stuff in a backpack and left our home. We didn’t even know she had gone. She just walked out our front door, with all her stuff, and said, “I’m going back to Africa.” We found her on a road, walking. She wanted nothing to do with us. We actually sat her down and said: “No matter what you do to us—if you don’t talk to us, if you don’t hug us, if you walk away from us—we’re still going to love you. You can’t stop us from loving you.”

Now, we’re able to hug her. I helped her, this week, to do a school project. Sharon went on a little soccer trip with her—she made a soccer team, here in the US. She’s a different person.

Bob: This is FamilyLife Today for Tuesday, March 12th. Our host is the President of FamilyLife®, Dennis Rainey, and I'm Bob Lepine. Mike and Sharon Dennehy join us today to talk about the joys and the challenges of being adoptive parents to nine adopted children. Stay tuned.

And welcome to FamilyLife Today. Thanks for joining us. You know, the reality of adoption, for a family, is that there are going to be some challenges. There’s going to be some degree of difficulty that comes into a family when you add a new child. When you add a new baby that the two of you conceived, that’s going to add challenge. You add an adopted child, that’s going to add challenge. You add an adopted child with special needs—that just seems like you’ve raised the degree of difficulty again. Then, you add multiple special-needs. At some point, you go, “It would take Superman to raise these kids!”

Dennis: Michael and Sharon live in Richmond, Virginia. They started out their marriage in 1983, and have adopted nine. They have three biological children: Erin, who’s 26; Marissa, who’s 24; and Ryan, who’s 22. Then, you’ve got a bunch of adopted boys and girls, ages 7 all the way to 18. Did I get that right?

Mike: Pretty close; that’s good.

Dennis: Well, it changes monthly; doesn’t it?

Sharon: It changes often.

Mike: Yes, I don’t think we actually know, either. [Laughter]

Dennis: Let’s go back to Bob’s statement that, “I think we tend to idealize adoption.” Yet, you’ve chosen to go the route of special-needs children. How many of these nine that you adopted have special needs?

Sharon: I would say four have physical special needs; but then, you know, when you’re adopting from a bad situation, you end up with a lot of psychological needs, too, that you can’t see.

Bob: Mike, you know, there are people listening, right now, who are saying: “Look, we have got two kids. I have got all I can say grace over with two kids.” It must take—like I said—Superman and Superwoman. It must take somebody uniquely-gifted to have as many kids as you have—to go out and adopt them—that have the special needs. Do you feel like this is something that you’re called and set apart to—the two of you—or do you feel like more people are called to this than think they are?

Mike: I think it’s not as hard as you would think it is. I have gotten that line from a lot of people: “We have three,” or, “We have two, and we don’t have a moment to breathe.” A couple of things there—first of all, that’s a natural reaction; but I think those people have fallen a little bit for the American version of childhood and the American version of family—which is, “Everything has got to perfect,”—as Sharon said.

But, also, it’s a little bit like spiritual bungee jumping. You take on something that you thought you never could do; and you realize: “I lived! This child is safe, and sound, and healthy now. Our family’s not only what it was, but it’s more. We’re happy. Life goes on. God took care of us.” Then, you do it again. You’re still a little scared each time. It actually gets easier and easier. We have this running joke in our family, “Once you get down to zero personal time, you can’t go lower.” [Laughter] So, why not just keep going at this; right?

Dennis: If my daughter Ashley was here—Ashley is our oldest. She’s married to an OB doctor. They have five boys, ages four to thirteen—lots going on. She and Michael stepped out and decided to become foster parents. She’s now had nine foster babies or young children that she has cared for. She says the most oft-repeated phrase is the one you just said: “Oh, I could never do that!”

That’s the reason she says people don’t. She says, “I have the response, Daddy.” She said, “You know what? I couldn’t do it either if God didn’t give me the strength to be able to do it.” She becomes a little like her dad, at this point. You have to know Ashley. She’s not a table-pounding person, but she begins to pound the table. She says, “You know, I think to say, ‘I could never do that,’ is a cop-out of not trusting God and asking God, ‘What do you want me to do?’” It’s not a matter of saying, “I could never do it,” but just stepping back and saying, “Okay, God. What would You want me to do about that?”

Bob: But you had better—if you’re going to take that step out in faith—and I agree with you—

Dennis: I’m not saying they should adopt, necessarily, or even become foster care parents.

Bob: But if you’re thinking about it—praying about it and thinking, “Maybe God would have us do that,” —you had better go into this with your eyes open because I do think there’s this picture—

Sharon: That’s true.

Bob: —I watched a beautiful video that’s done of your family, I Like Adoption. The kids are smiling in that video, and playing with each other, and they’re getting along. I watched that; and I thought, “Who doesn’t want this family?!” I know there have to have been days when it’s been dark at your house and when the reality of the special needs—not so much the physical, maybe, as much as some of the soul-scars that some of your kids have—when you thought, “Are we able to handle what God’s given to us?”

Sharon: There have been those moments. We had some attachment issues with some of the older kids. You know, they would test us. What they’re doing is trying to see if you’ll really be there for them because they don’t believe that. We just said to them, “We’re going to love you no matter what you do to us.” I think, you know, it’s really what Jesus models for us. We just try to do that in our own home.

Bob: Mike, tell us how you handled attachment issues because listeners are going: “I’ve got that with my two-year-old—trying to drop him off at the nursery at church. They will not go in.” So, what did you guys do when George was screaming because he didn’t want—I’m talking about when he was a baby—what did you do?

Mike: We just tried to be Christ-like where we could. I mean, we had an Ethiopian daughter join us. She, literally—talk about attachment issues—she, literally, put all of her stuff in a backpack and left our home. We didn’t even know she had gone. She just walked out our front door, with all her stuff, and said, “I’m going back to Africa.” We found her on a road, walking. She wanted nothing to do with us. Now, we’re able to hug her. I helped her, this week, to do a school project. Sharon went on a little soccer trip with her—she made a soccer team, here in the US. She’s a different person.

Bob: But how did you get from, “I’m running away,” to a different person?

Mike: The talk that Sharon said—we actually sat her down and said: “No matter what you do, if you’re in God’s family, He would never abandon you. No matter what you do to us—if you don’t talk to us, if you don’t hug us, if you walk away from us—we’re still going to love you. You can’t stop us from loving you.”

Dennis: Well, now again, all of this sounds really kind of perfect, talking about it here in a studio; but in the heat of the moment, when there’s an emotional meltdown or a child who maybe gets violent, physically or emotionally, against parents or against their siblings, that demands a lot of the parents. Have you ever had to deal with anything like that?

Mike: A little bit, yes. The idea that I told you about—where someone would just kind of run away or leave—it was going to be dangerous. I had to, literally, pick them up and carry them back in the house, and lock the door, and sit in front of the door and say, “If you go out there on that road, who knows who could pick you up or whatever.” We had some of those but nothing—I can honestly say nothing—that was really extreme. That, maybe, is just God looking out for us, and keeping His eye on our family, and giving us a little extra dose of blessing.

Bob: Have there been days, Sharon, when you’ve been so overwhelmed that you thought, “I don’t know that I have the capacity for this”?

Sharon: There have been days when I’ve wanted to take a very long nap, by myself.

Bob: Yes?

Dennis: Ever lose heart? I mean, the Scriptures are real clear—in Galatians, it says, “Don’t lose heart in well-doing for in due time you shall reap.”

Sharon: I think the key is I really felt God called us to this. I really felt that He was in it, from the beginning. When you know that, you know there might be hard times; but you feel He’s going to take you out the other end.

Mike: I have an altered view of all of this. I submit that a lot of people walk around every day—and they’re living what would be called the American dream—but they know they’re kind of in neutral—waking up, having their coffee, going to work, coming home, having dinner, watching their favorite TV show—and it’s not that challenging; but it’s a little hard, and then they do it again.

When you enter God’s will in such a way that He starts revealing amazing stories and blessings, and you travel, and you see lives changed—you see people come to the Lord because of what they see your children saying or doing—or you see this ripple effect that starts to kick-in. You, actually, start to come more alive. It reminds me of, “If you lose your life, you’ll gain it,” and, “If you gain your life, you’ll lose it.” There’s something sort of scary about that middle place—where you’re just in neutral.

Dennis: Comfort is a dangerous—

Mike: Comfort will kill you!

Dennis: It will.

Sharon: It will.

Dennis: And your faith won’t grow in the midst of a Lazy Boy® recliner.

Sharon: Absolutely.

Bob: But I’m just wondering, “Do you remember, Mike, when it started to dawn on you that, ‘God is up to something here that is bigger than just our family. He’s going to use these kids and what’s happening here to advance His kingdom’?”

Mike: It slowly dawned on me. I’m a little slow on the draw sometimes, but the last year has been a year of rich and amazing blessings. We kind of were our own, quiet little selves for 17 years. The last six months, God pressed the turbo button and has decided to just unleash the story—and let us be part of the story, which has been amazing.

Bob: Some of that’s because of George—and the fact that he plays guitar, and cello, and piano with his feet.

Mike: Yes.

Bob: We’ve seen YouTube® videos of him. He’s got a beautiful voice, by the way. Even if he couldn’t play—just put a microphone in front of him—he’s got a beautiful voice.

Mike: Yes.

Bob: But he’s leading worship in churches. Tell us about Romania because he was born in Romania.

Sharon: Right.

Bob: He’s now a minor celebrity in Romania; right?

Sharon: He is. They invited him back to be on a television show when they saw his video. The idea was they would have him reunite with his biological family on television. It was an amazing three days we spent with the family. I felt like his mother and I had this special bond—we were holding hands—we had our arms around each other. I think that’s only something that happens with the Holy Spirit. There wasn’t that mother competition or that mother jealousy. It was: “We both love this boy. God has a plan for him, and we’re both making it happen.”

Dennis: I want you to comment on something that George symbolizes—but, also, I guess every one of your children, in some way, does—that is—we tend to look at a handicap as something that limits a child. What have you seen in your children that demonstrates the power of what God’s up to in a human life—who may be born with a handicap or a disability.

Sharon: I always think of that verse in Corinthians that says, “He uses the foolish things to confound the wise, and He uses the weak things to confound the strong.” I really feel like He does that with our children. He created them, and He had that purpose in mind—that they would be able to show people things they wouldn’t see otherwise.

Bob: George, for example, and I guess James, as well—no arms—but they both drive, and they drive cars that are not specially-equipped.

Mike: Correct.

Bob: How’s this work? How do you get the keys out of the pocket? [Laughter] Seriously!

Dennis: What’s your insurance bill?

Mike: Very, very large! [Laughter]

Bob: How would George get in the car? What does he do?

Mike: God sent a lovely young lady to visit us. Her name is Jessica Cox, and she was born with no arms. She’s the only registered pilot in the world, who flies a plane with her feet. She has a black belt. She came to visit our area. She showed George and James the plane and how she flew it. She took us on a magical journey about possibilities.

Then, she said, “I want to go visit you at your house.” We all hopped in, and she was driving down the highway. She said to me, “Oh, no. Don’t get adaptations for George and James. Picture this in the future—they’ll want to go somewhere. They’ll go up to the Hertz Rent-a-Car counter, and they’ll need a specially-equipped car. They won’t be able to travel. You want to have them use everything normal.” She gave me this motivational talk. I said: “She’s right! They can do it.” She said, “Watch me,” and she started teaching them as they watched her do it. They got motivated.

Bob: So she uses—and they use—left foot for gas and brake?

Mike: Correct.

Bob: And steers with the right foot?

Mike: Yes.

Bob: So does that mean you’re knee is sticking over into the passenger compartment? I’m trying to get a picture of this.

Mike: Yes, I mean, there’s a little bit of that; but they, obviously, couldn’t use their left foot to steer because the door and the window would block you.

Dennis: Right.

Mike: So, they had to go to the right; and with the right, you’ve got a lot more ability to kind of—

Bob: And if you’ve got to do a sharp turn—they can do that?

Mike: Oh, yes! They do quite well. It’s funny—the lady who taught them to drive said to each of them, “I feel a little safer with you guys than with my own daughter.” [Laughter] I think she was half-joking, but it was funny.

Bob: Keys? They can put the keys in the ignition and turn them?

Mike: Yes! Then think about putting on your own seatbelt. They both do that.

Bob: Wow!

Mike: It’s interesting. Yes, they get a lot of—our police station gets a lot of phone calls, “There’s this crazy kid driving with his feet!”

Dennis: What special abilities have you seen, as a result of—you have one daughter who has no arms or legs. You’re, undoubtedly, seeing certain things emerge in her. What special abilities—mentally, emotionally, spiritually—do you see in her?

Sharon: Yes. She just has an amazing mind. She’s a smart girl, and she knows how to tell people what she wants because she has to. You know, she can’t do a lot for herself. So, we’re teaching her to do it politely rather than order us around. [Laughter]

Bob: So, how might she speak her mind? Give me an example of what might be the way she does it today.

Sharon: “Mom! My hair’s in my face and it’s going to get in my food.” “Mom! Quick, I have an itch. Scratch my back!”

Bob: Okay, got it.

Sharon: So we say, “You had some nannies in Thailand who were paid to take care of you, but I’m your mom. So, you need to ask nicely.” [Laughter] So, she’s learning that.

Dennis: And could you see how God might use her when she becomes an adult—how He may take that limitation and just declare a certain aspect of Who He is through her?

Mike: Yes, we were talking about Nick V—I always mess up his last name. I apologize. He’s a shining example of that—if anyone’s ever had a chance to hear about Nick. Nick was born with no arms and no legs. His full-time role now is to travel the world and share the Gospel. He tells everybody, “If God had given me arms and legs, I wouldn’t be here talking to you today.” I could see that happening with Hope, as well— and George is doing it, now.

Dennis: She could be telling people what to do, saying, “Here’s about your relationship with God.” [Laughter]

Mike: Yes—I order you to accept Christ!

Sharon: She’s very bold! I need to share an example of that, actually, because—and this is a little plug for the Jesus film, also—I try to get a copy of the Jesus film in whatever language my child has when they come to us—if they’re an older child. We got the Thai version of the kids’ Jesus film. We showed it to her when she first arrived. She immediately got it. The Holy Spirit had worked on her; and she said, “I love Jesus, and I want Jesus!” Then she got sad; and she said, “But I’m Thai. I’m not allowed. I have to be a Buddhist.” I explained to her that, “That’s not true,” and that she could love Jesus. Once she realized that, she wanted to go back to Thailand and tell everyone about Jesus. So, she’s got that—she wants to tell people.

Bob: May God open doors, around the world, for her to tell people that you don’t have to be a Buddhist—you can trust Christ.

Sharon: That’s right. That’s right.

Dennis: It will be interesting to see what the rest of the story is there.

Mike: To be determined.

Bob: That’s right.

Dennis: Yes, and it will be determined. You know it will be.

Mike: Yes, it already is.

Dennis: Tell us about James. He has no arms. He’s from India. He’s now 16; is that right?

Mike: Yes. He’s driving. He is academically-inclined, unlike his brother. We had this idealistic vision that because George and James both had no arms—they would be best friends for life and share every thought and idea, and pal up and do things, and help each other. They do not get along so well. [Laughter]

Bob: You thought they’d be twins!

Mike: Yes. Their personalities are completely opposite. They’re both amazing people, but they’re’ like Yin and Yang. So, James is academic—

Mike: James—James—you’ve got to hear this one because it’s kind of comical. James would say to George, “If you keep messing with me, you’re gonna get a heeling!” Usually, a healing is a good thing. When James wails on George, it’s with the back of his feet. He gets him on the ground and then pounds him.

Bob: A heel-ing! [Laughter] I get it! With the heel! [Laughter]

Mike: So, in our house, if you hear, “Next time you do this, you’re getting a heeling!” it’s not a good thing. [Laughter]

Dennis: You know, the principle is—boys are going to find a way to wrestle, whether they have any arms or legs. [Laughter]

Mike: Exactly!

Dennis: It’s going to happen!

Bob: And the good news is your sons get along today; don’t they?

Dennis: Oh, yes. We’re planning a golf trip together.

Bob: I just want to give you some hope that it could be that James and George and you are all best friends before long.

Sharon: I believe it, yes.

Mike: It’ll happen.

Dennis: You know, I think the lesson to take away from the Dennehys is just to look at their example and then say, “What’s my assignment when it comes to the orphan?” It doesn’t mean you need to adopt. It doesn’t mean you need to become a foster care parent. It doesn’t mean you need to go to an orphanage in a far-away country; but you do need to go near the orphan somehow, someway—either through prayer, through giving—maybe, physically.

I have to say that there has not been a time when I have gone near the orphan that I haven’t felt like I’ve gone near the heart of God. I’ll never forget a moment in Beijing, China. There was a young lady who was blind. She was, I think, 17 or 18. Some extended family members were using her to make money on the street corners because her voice was that of an angel. Somehow, she found her way to this orphanage where they provided protection and safety for her. She became a follower of Christ and gave her life to Christ. We didn’t know the language of Mandarin, but she sang Jesus Loves Me to us. I’m going to tell you—there wasn’t a dry eye among all of the adults—

Sharon: Yes.

Dennis: —because it was the voice of an angel, in another language—but a human being who reflects the image of God. I just think—when you go near the orphan, you think you go near them to help them; but God ends up touching you.

Sharon: Absolutely!

Bob: You know, our team, here at FamilyLife, has put together resources to help you figure out how you can be a part of what God is doing to care for the needs of orphans, all around the world—again, 150 million orphans, worldwide. What can we do as believers? There are things we can be doing. If you go to FamilyLifeToday.com, we have resources listed there to help you ask the question, “How can I be used by God to minister to orphans, all around the world?” Adoption may be an option, or it may not be an option. If it is not an option, there are other things you can be doing.

Again, go to FamilyLifeToday.com and find out more about how you can be used by God in the lives of orphans, all around the world; or give us a call at 1-800-FL-TODAY. We’d be happy to let you know what we have available and talk with you about how you might be able to serve the needs of orphans in your local church, in your community, or around the world.

Now, let me ask you a question, real quick, “How long have you been listening to FamilyLife Today?” I met somebody, recently, who said, “I’ve been listening since the beginning” —which is more than 20 years ago. This listener said: “I remember when you guys first came on the radio. I’ve been listening ever since—you helped us raise our kids, you helped us in our marriage—you’ve given us practical, biblical counsel, all the way through—and we appreciate it.” It was great to be able to connect with them and thank them for listening.

Are you a long-time listener to FamilyLife Today? Has God used this ministry in your life—in your marriage? If so, I have two things I’d like to talk to you about. Here’s the first—we’d like to hear your story. We’d like to hear how God has used FamilyLife Today,or our Weekend to Remember®, or Art of Marriage® events—or maybe you attended the Stepping Up™ event or hosted one of those a few weeks ago. We’d love to hear how God has used FamilyLife in your life. Would you call 1-800-FL-TODAY—and when the phone gets answered, press the number “8”? You can leave us your story. Now, you’ll have to keep it tight. I think you get about two minutes to share your story with us. So, you might want to jot down a few thoughts before you call. But when you call 1-800-FL-TODAY, press “8”, and then just share your story with us. We may pass it on to listeners, here on FamilyLife Today,or share it with folks on the internet in the days to come. We’ll look forward to hearing from you.

The other thing I want to ask you to consider is to think about becoming a Legacy Partner. Legacy Partners make monthly contributions to keep FamilyLife Today up and running—help cover the costs of our production and syndication—month-in and month-out—for this daily radio program. We appreciate those of you who are Legacy Partners. We’re just hoping here, during the month of March, that we’d have some long-time listeners who would step forward and say, “We want to help out, as well.” Go to FamilyLifeToday.com. Click the button that says, “I CARE”. You can either make a one-time donation or you can sign up to become a Legacy Partner. Again, go to FamilyLifeToday.com and click the “I CARE” button; or call 1-800-FL-TODAY and say, “I want to become a Legacy Partner.” Let me just say, “Thanks,” in advance, for your consideration of either of those two requests. We’d love to hear your story, and we’d love to have you join us as a Legacy Partner.

And we hope you’ll be back with us again tomorrow. Mike and Sharon Dennehy are going to be here again. We’re going to talk about some of the folks who will try to discourage you if you think about adopting kids or think about adopting special-needs kids. They’ll share some of their experience with you tomorrow. I hope you can be here for that.

I want to thank our engineer today, Keith Lynch, and our entire broadcast production team. On behalf of our host, Dennis Rainey, I'm Bob Lepine. We will see you back next time for another edition of FamilyLife Today.

FamilyLife Today is a production of FamilyLife of Little Rock, Arkansas.

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Fun, engaging conversations about what it takes to build stronger, healthier marriage and family relationships. Join hosts Dave and Ann Wilson with FamilyLife Today® veteran cohost Bob Lepine for new episodes every weekday.

Guest

Michael and Sharon Dennehy

Mike and Sharon Dennehy were living the American dream. They were in love, had three children and a steady income. All it took was one black-and-white photo to change their lives. The caption read, “Boy with no arms in Romania desperately needs a loving home.” Mike and Sharon glanced at each other and they made arrangements to travel to Eastern Europe to the home of their soon-to-be adopted son, George.Adoption wasn’t always the plan for the Dennehy family. Back in college, Sharon was totally “career-minded.” She thought having three children—three and no more—was the definition of a big family. But as her relationship with God grew, so did her desire to help others grow. Sharon recognized adoption as something she and Mike could do to help children who wouldn’t otherwise have a home. Mike said:“We got this idea because we heard an amazing sermon from the book of James about being doers of God’s word, not just hearers. You can just sit and listen and go to church every Sunday, but if you don’t put it into practice, you’re not living the way you should. We realized we were just being pew sitters instead of doers.” Well, there are no better people to be doing ministry among than orphaned kids with special needs.At first, the thought of bringing disabled children into their already busy lives scared the Dennehys. However, all of those fears vanished when they saw that photo of George. George, who was born without arms into a poor Romanian family and couldn’t take care of himself, was severely malnourished and at 14 months, he weighed only 9 pounds. Today, as part of the Dennehy family, George is a healthy, young man who uses his feet to play musical instruments. In fact, he is soon to be married.After seeing George’s success and feeling the blessings he brought into their family, the Dennehys decided to adopt eight other children—nothing like going at it full throttle, right? There was James, without arms, he is from Bangalore, India. Caris from China has disabilities and so does Hope from Thailand, plus two siblings from out of state, and three sisters from Ethiopia. With 12 children and several dogs, the Dennehys household looks like a virtual meeting of the United Nations with kids of every color and disability that you can imagine. The thing I love about the example of Mike and Sharon is how their story serves as a model. Adoption is sort of a model of what God does for us, because we’re all out there, disabled by sin with no home and no hope and then God says, “Do not be afraid. You are no longer alone. I am going to rescue you; I’m going to bring you into my family. I will take care of you. I will be your Father and I will give you a home.” Isn’t that wonderful? And if God is so merciful to us, adopting us into His family, should we not be as merciful to children who have no hope and have no home?